Jillian and Kenneth were one of the sweetest couples I’ve ever worked with. Jillian and I first started talking about their wedding thru Instagram DMs. She had browsed my feed and, because I make an effort to really show my personality on IG, she said she knew right away she wanted me to document their wedding day. 😀
At the time, they were doing the long distance thing, Kenneth being away from Florida for work. Luckily, we were able to cross schedules and find a day to do their engagement shoot, which turned out awesome! But I was happy we got to do it because we really got to bond during the shoot, connecting on everything from music to geek culture. Which made the anticipation for their wedding day that much stronger.
Then the day finally came! The sun was out, no rain in the forecast and The Wanderers Club was looking it’s best. They each got ready in the mens/ladies locker rooms of the country club, luckily I had Tessa with me so she was allowed to go into the ladies locker room Lol.
For their wedding, they decided on doing a First Look because they wanted to get the more formal pictures done before the ceremony so that they could enjoy the cocktail hour. Also, the ceremony was close to sunset which wouldn’t have allowed hardly any time to do pictures with daylight afterward. These are the situations in which I strongly recommend a First Look. If your ceremony is close to sunset, or if you want to enjoy part of the cocktail hour, both, or if you simply are nervous and you know that seeing each other and having a private moment, even if a few minutes, would take those nerves away, a First Look is the way to go. Not to mention that the “tradition” of its bad luck to see each other before the ceremony, dates back to arrange marriages (too many lords jumping in horses and running away Lol).
But, I also see the romance in waiting to see the bride for the first time walking down the aisle, so it’s purely personal. When it’s my turn to get married, I’m not sure which one I’ll do, traditional or first look. But, other than personal reasons for choosing one over the other, a big factor will be when will my wedding take place (spring/summer/fall/winter) and what time the ceremony starts. 🙂
Now, back to our story lol. For Jillian and Kenneth’s first look, I found a cute spot which had good light but was also private, so that they could have their moment alone. Jillian’s mom eventually joined in lol, and we got to take some formal pictures but also fun ones.
Then ceremony started and, as you’ll see below, it was a really emotional ceremony. Afterward, we did  family pictures followed by intimate portraits.  Another note about First Looks, I normally just do the formal pictures during the first look, ie: the posed, standing, holding the flowers and smiling at the camera pictures that your parents will love lol.
I don’t do the more intimate pictures during the first look because I don’t want makeup or lipstick to rub off, or the dress to get a little dirty before the ceremony. BUT, from the moment the ceremony ends thru the end of the reception, if your lipstick has not rubbed off or if the bottom of your dress did not get at least a little dirty, you did your wedding wrong…in my opinion 😉
After the intimate pictures during sunset, and some running around being silly pictures lol, we headed back to cocktail hour and then it was on to the party. And a party it truly was! You’ll see below all the emotions during the first dances and parent dances. You’ll also see that these guys had a blast! 100% fun the entire night, as it should be!
Venue: The Wanderers Club
